Tassie Day 12

Today was our day off the bike.

 The day started with a pancake breakfast.  We really rough it while camping.

When we finally got ourselves organised(ish), we walked over to the National Automotive Museum.

There is a really good display of cars and motorcycles.  They are all privately owned and on loan to the museum.

They range from veterans, like this 1909 Renault to much more modern.

The 1937 SS 100 Jaguar was rather tasty.

I didn't mind the 1960 Elfin Streamliner either.

There were two 1969 Shelby Mustangs.

Upstairs there were the motorcycles.

They ranged from the little Honda Z50.

To a veteran Ward JAP.

To a supercharged Kawasaki.

Mick's favourites were the lightweight European bikes, in particular the green and gold one in the middle, which is good for 125 miles per hour. Scary!

The feature display was on Peter Brock.  

His original two cars were on display, which was special.

Of course an 05 car was also featured.

Once outside again we crossed the road to City Park to see the monkeys.  A troop of Japanese Macaque monkeys have been in the park for many years.

Some of the males started to have a scrap while we were there.

This fellow looked to be the big daddy of them all.

All the babies ran to their mothers for comfort.

The park was lovely, with a Conservatory with dahlias out the front.

Anyone would think I like dahlias.

Inside was lush and leafy.  Apparently the display is changed regularly.

I think we found our littlest lighthouse while wandering through the park, beside the lake.

As we wandered further through the park we came across an old cottage advertising that they are the community radio station.  For a gold coin donation you could visit the station and their vintage radio collection.  

Of course we went in.

We were taken into the radio studio as well.  They have 45 volunteers, with about a dozen on the roster each day to broadcast.

Very interesting and our guide was entertaining.  A little gem hidden away.

By now it was lunch time, so we found a friendly cafe.  As I said before, we rough it.

After lunch we just roamed around looking at the sites.  I loved the old Gasworks building, which now houses a Hogs Breath Cafe.  Quite a change from its original role.  I presume they cook with gas.

We had planned to visit a few more interesting places, but were running out of time, as we had to be ready for a 3pm tour.

We've never done a brewery tour before, so we decided to visit Boags.  The brewery is bang smack in the middle of town, where it has been since its inception in 1881.

Above is the original building.

No photos were allowed in the actual brewery, which is fully operational as we walk through.  It is really interesting learning about all the processes in making beer.  In the packing hall, bottles feed through the machine at 90 per second.  They were just a blur in some parts.

We also learnt that they have brewed beer for other companies as well.  However, beer consumption in Australia is at a fourteen year low, so 39 staff will lose their jobs very soon.  They will then go back to only brewing Boags brand beer.

After the tour we did the most important tasting.  

Firstly, we tried Boags Premium, which is very light and fresh tasting.  It is only available in bottles, not on tap, and is exported all around the world.  Next we had Boags Red, which is an easy drinking lager, but only available in Tasmania.  Finally, we tried Wizard Smith, which is an English style ale, using hops imported from Kent.  It is alo only available in Tasmania.  This was Mick's favourite.

It has an interesting story behind it.  The beer is only a fairly new release.  Back in the 1920s Len Smith was a cart driver for Boags.  He was a slow plodding sort of bloke. At the time there was a race driver named Wizard Smith, so his mates gave him the tongue in cheek nick name.

In the terrible 1929 floods, Wizard left his flooded home, swam the swollen river and saved his draught horses.  In appreciation, James Boag pronounced that Wizard was never to be sacked from his job.  During the Great Depression that was a valuable thing.  He continues to work there for another 30 years. The naming of a beer is a fitting tribute to Wizard.

A six-pack may be coming home with us for winter.

Out of interst, at the back of the premises there are some hop plants growing.  They are just about ready for harvest.

I've never seen them before.

There was also a nicely painted up one Chevy truck, like the one my grandparents had.

By now we were ready to head back to our camp.  We will have to try and see some more tomorrow.  On the way we saw lots of kids starting their rowing training.

Another social night has taken place, which is very hard to take.